Beloved
by girlUndiscovered
Summary: She could never become a kunoichi. Oh no, she was far too weak for that. So father married his precious little burden off. Rated M for language and adult scenes later on.
1. Before the Dawn

**Ok, so a fanfic I had an idea for. The rest I was put up to write. This is the first chapter, and I will try and get the other chapters up soon.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing.**

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><p>The young bride stared at herself in the mirror. A childish face, wreathed in the white of a wedding gown. She was not ready; Gods, she was simply not ready! Anguished, dark eyes, much unlike her own. Far too old for the face in which they were set. Let not anyone get her wrong, she looked beautiful indeed. Like a china doll, cold and composed. And from now on, that was what she should be. She had failed her father at her training; he had taken quite heavily to Neji, discarding his daughter like trash. And she was – she must remind herself that now she was a woman housewife. She would live at home; cook, keep the house in some order. And bear her husband's children. Her husband was a nameless man with no face. He was simply there in her mind, dressed in a suit of sorts, and yet with no face. She knew he was of the Hyuuga line. A cousin to her, her father had told her, minutes after she'd been given the information that by the next month, she'd be a married woman.<p>

So many regrets. She moved herself delicately to the window, dress swinging heavily from her hips, dragging on the floor behind her. She had never told Naruto she loved him. Or had once loved him. She would now be expected to dedicate herself entirely to her husband. This meant no room for foolish childish daydreams that had swung out of hand, causing her to lose consciousness every few seconds. This brought a slight smile to the heiress's lips.

"It is good to see you smiling again." The door was opened, and Tenten padded slowly in. She was enrobed in a sheer silver dress that pooled at her feet delicately. Her usual hairstyle; shoved roughly into two buns had been redone elegantly, a slight twist that folded over itself at the nape of the neck. The result was that her best friend looked simply stunning.

"There is not much to smile for, these days." The young bride took herself quickly forwards, just as Tenten's arms opened and she was welcomed into a warm embrace. The heiress was a mixture of emotions, yet none of them could be allowed to show. She detached herself from her former comrade, smiling wanly. Then, steeling herself inside, she turned to face the door, and her new life. "Let's get this over with."

"Spoken with the determination and grace of a true kunoichi." Tenten bent to grip her dress, and Hinata caught sight of a light bruise on her upper forearm. How she envied her now. Wished that she could've been a true kunoichi indeed. Wished that her father had not given up hope and decided to marry her off to a distant relative. The doors opened slowly, just as a marching tune kicked in several beats two late. The bride carried herself well, head lifted, eyes turned demurely down. Or was it just so none would see the tears?

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><p><strong>AN: For you, Sak ;3**


	2. Cry for me

**OK, CHAPTER two up for you. Some serious regretty stuff in here. I'm still making decisions.**

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><p><em>Here comes the bride, here comes the bride…<em>

Her husband was standing there. Her husband. The very words both repulsed and excited her. He was still faceless, but now he had a body. A muscular build, taller than she by quite a lot. Long hair, bound and tied in a neat ponytail. She couldn't see his face yet – did she want to. Each step took her closer and closer towards him. And then she saw a shock of orange hair, standing just to the right of her new husband. Naruto was here? Her heart was constricting and flutter painfully in her chest, yet she kept herself calm and composed. From here she could see the form of her father, and in some odd and very unlikely way it reassured her. She focused on her footsteps; although she trod with some feline grace, each footstep sounded loud and disjointed to her ears. There were not enough footsteps for her to gather her thoughts in, and too soon she was at the altar. She kept her eyes down, strictly off the grooms face. And this was her goodbye to the carefree life she had led; no more could she bend the rules, stay out with her friends. In a few short moments, she would be a married woman. The service was passing in a blur, and she acted as a robot, answering where she should, and correctly so.

"Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The priest was some old, tottering fool of ages older than she. She hated him. She hated everyone. She hated her life. It was ruined. Ruined, because of her father. Ruined, because of how weak she was.

"I do." The words slipped past her lips, a submissive murmur. The entirety of the congregation exhaled as one, a breath of relief. The priest himself gave off an approving noise before turning back to her faceless husband. His head was tilted up to view the priest.

"Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?" A small part of the blue haired woman's being begged him to say no, but with next to no resistance he murmured the fateful words that bound them together.

"I do." His voice was familiar… far too familiar to be a distant cousin she would not know. Her veil was blocking her eyesight, and it would've looked unladylike to be twitching at her headdress, not to mention the anger her father would torrent upon her if she did such. So she kept her head down, heart slightly quickened; eyes wide with confusion. Who could this member of her family be that she did not know him, and yet did know him?

"You may now kiss the bride." She felt her cheeks heat a little and the strangest sensation alight in her stomach. Her hand was taken by another, larger, stronger hand. She turned to her new husband, just as he caught her veil between two fingers. It fluttered over her head, cascading down her back, as she stared into the eyes of Neji Hyuuga. A small smile tangled upon his face, before he bent, and pressed his lips to her own.

She was married to Neji Hyuuga.

And to be perfectly honest, was quite self satisfied that she didn't faint.

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><p>After the service, a small party was held in the Hyuuga clan house. Hinata had donned her second outfit of the day, a lilac gown. Her hair was pulled into an intricate – and painful – series of curls atop her head. Honestly, she felt quite delirious.<p>

Mrs Neji Hyuuga. The man in question was at her side; her arm was linked lightly through his, her head tilted down courteously to all her fellow guests. She could not have counted the amount of times she had murmured a 'thank you' to the words of a guest. So many people, enclosed in such a space to merely catch a glimpse of the heiress. Later, when the older ones had left or retired to bed, the younger nin would party until the early hours of the morning. And then bed… that prospect brought a catch in her breath, a lump in her belly.

"I have someone for you to see." Her tall, dark haired warrior bent slightly, his lips barely touching her ear. With a flourish and a smile to his guests, he took her up and onto the balcony.

"Hello Hinata." The voice was dusky, raw as if it had been subjugated to tears. Neji turned, slipping from the balcony to give Hinata a solitary moment with her past love. The blonde stepped forwards from the shadows, cheeks red with tears. Those aquamarine pools were glimmering, both with unshed tears and with the sight of her.

"Naruto…" She took herself forwards at a quick pace, brought herself near to him. The fragility was gone; she was not scared to approach him now. There would be no more fainting. No more laughter. Another lump of regret welled in her throat, hard and solid. "I'm so sorry."

"I had to see you, Hinata." Uncertainly, he reached out, as if to touch her upon the cheek, yet his hand hovered in the air momentarily. She no longer had a chance to be his. His butterfly had grown, and was flown before he could even appreciate her. And this thought killed him inside. All his life he had played down his love for Hinata. He had tried to impress her, but had ended up goofing around. The realisation of her marriage shook his form, and he sunk to his knees.

"Naruto!" In a moment she was beside him, his arms around his sobbing form. She wished that her life had not been like this; wished she had had more time, more time with Naruto, more time as a kunoichi. She hated her father. It was clear, this hate. It flowed through her veins like fire.

In that small moment, she wanted to kill everyone. To kill all other than herself and Naruto. They could've lived in a nice little house that she kept neat and tidy. She'd wait for him at the end of missions. They would have children, children with blue and orange hair that would brighten anyone's day. And of course they would fail the academy tests. But still. She would love them, and her Naruto more than anything.

She wanted her life back.

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><p><strong>AN: Yeah, so at the moment I'm not sure whether to tailspin and create some big angsty love story with naruto instead of Neji, and change the story to Naruto X Hinata. PLEASE give me your views on this, either by review or mails 3**


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